Aging & Disability Resource Centers

Beginning in 2003, the Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services, both part of the US Department of Health and Human
Services, have overseen the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)
grant initiative. The grants were part of
the New Freedom Initiative of the Bush administration to
help overcome barriers to community living for the elderly and disabled.

It was noted that "a broad range of programs and services ranging from
home-and-community based care to institutional support are available
to assist older adults and individuals with disabilities. These
services are sponsored and supported by numerous agencies and have diverse
and sometimes complex eligibility requirements. Individuals and
their families who are seeking support services often have difficultly
sorting through or even locating community-based services. The result
may be unnecessary and costly institutionalization." *CMS

access to publicly and privately financed services and benefits
for those in need of long-term supports

The disabled community has long had Centers for Independent Living.
These centers began in 1978 as part of the Rehabilitation Act of Title
VII. The intent has been to support and empower people with disabilities
to live independently in their own homes and in their own communities,
ideally with a job and with access to transportation, housing, health
care and any other supports that they may need to be truly independent
in the community. All of these centers are non-profits and are owned,
operated and staffed by people with disabilities. The core philosophy
has been consumer choice and consumer direction in the programs that
seek to support and empower them.

The Aging Network has long had Area Agencies on Aging, local
aging services providers, and senior centers that have served as focal
points for service and information delivery to seniors and their family
caregivers.

The ADRCs were envisioned as:

system entry points to provide streamlined services and information
to seniors and people of all disabilities

a system to integrate and collaborate efforts to serve these populations
since, many times the services overlap

locations where a consumer could get entered into the system and
have the paperwork for the service be handled at that location no matter
where the service is performed.

The philosophy is to be committed to:

consumer control

consumer direction

self-determination

autonomy

and dignity.

Agencies and organizations within the community work together to
provide information about, assistance with, and access to services
for individuals who are aging or have a disability.

Required Functions of an ADRC:

Awareness & Information

Public education

Information on long-term support options

Assistance

Options counseling

Benefits counseling

Employment options counseling

Crisis intervention

Planning for future long-term services needs

Access

Eligibility screening

Assistance in gaining access to private pay services

Facilitation of programmatic eligibility determination

Facilitation of medicaid financial eligibility determination

Uniform access to all public programs

The ADRCs also are expected to work within the guidelines of a prior
grant program called Real Choice Systems Change (RCSC) to further enhance
what an ADRC is able to offer. Bottom line, the intent is to enable those
with a disability or long-term illness to:

Live in the most integrated community setting appropriate
to their individual support
requirements and preferences

Exercise meaningful choices about
their living environment, the providers of services
they receive, the types of supports they use, and the manner by which
services are
provided; and

Obtain quality services in a manner as consistent as possible
with their community living
preferences and priorities.

Consumers have the right to be informed of all their choices, including
those consumers being discharged from hospitals. Consumers also have
the right to choose which option they prefer within the framework of
what is possible for their individual situation. The hope is that informed
consumers may well fit into community and home based care parameters
instead of automatically being channelled into the long-term care system.

Over time, the concept of encouraging the maximum level of personal
choice in health care decision making and long-term care planning has
come to be knows as Person Centered Care. Agencies involved with
ADRCs support this concept.

What does this mean for Centers for Independent Living and Area Agencies
on Aging? For now, as a consumer, you have multiple opportunities to
connect to services and support. If you have an ADRC in your area, chances
are your Area Agency on Aging and any Centers for Independent Living
that are in your area are involved. If not, either of the above can be
contacted for assistance as well as your local aging services provider.
Senior Centers are also knowledgable in local available services. A consumer
in need can contact any of these options to get connected and to get
assistance.